Ethan Andrew - One Month Old

Current stats: At Ethan's check-up on December 1st (8 days shy of one month old) he weighed in at  9 lbs 9.5oz and was 22" long! We're very proud of this growth of almost 2 pounds and 4"! He wore newborn diapers for the first 2 weeks and is now in size 1 diapers. He's also wearing newborn and 0-3 month size clothing. 

Sleeping: Little man is such a great sleeper. He's sleeps for most of the day, and takes a really good 2-3 morning and evening nap. At night, he wakes up between midnight and 1AM, again between 4AM and 5AM, and then again for the day around 8AM. I am very grateful to be getting so much sleep during this first month, even though it isn't consistent hours, those 2-4 hour stretches really make such a difference. He prefers to sleep on his tummy, and we're constantly trying to roll him back onto his back.

Eating: He is exclusively nursing and does so like a champ! He normally eats every 2-3 hours, unless he's having a growth spurt, then he cluster eats...and that is incredibly exhausting for me (although we've only had a few days like that so far). I absolutely love nursing, but I've noticed whenever I eat any dairy (AKA my loves cheese, milk, sour cream, yogurt) or onions, he is very gassy and is in pain. So, I've stopped eating those things so that he isn't suffering. I had a similar problem with Arabella and had to stop eating dairy for a few months, but luckily I was able to reintroduce when she was older with no problems. I've been pumping periodically, and Ethan takes a bottle with ease. He also takes a pacifier and that is convenient!

Likes and Dislikes: Little man loves to be held (and we love to hold him), loves looking at his sea animal crib mobile, music, Christmas lights, and being rocked in his rocker. He also adores his siblings and loves when they talk to him. He adores Keith and will look for him if he hears Keith's voice. He also likes me a good bit. :D As for dislikes, he is not a fan of his car seat or swing, but both are growing on him.

Nicknames: Lil Baby, Eeth, Baby E, Ethan Peethan, and Tiny Mais. Then there's Eeth, Eeth the Indian Chief (because when Keith was younger he'd always say "Keith, Keith the Indian Chief!" lol)

Milestones:

First Bath at Home - November 16,  2016

First Thanksgiving - November 24, 2016

First smile captured on camera - November 27, 2016

Sibling Love: Gavin and Arabella both went through a lot adjusting to their new sibling. The first week Arabella would cry and throw herself on the ground constantly, and Gavin was being very sassy and talking back. The second and third week, Arabella stopped crying and started being my little diaper helper. Anytime E needed a diaper change, she was there bringing me a diaper, wipe, and throwing the dirty diaper away. Gavin stopped talking back and also started helping get E's pacifier when needed. Now, Gavin is absolutely obsessed with his brother and talks to him, helps me take care of him, and always tries to make him laugh. Arabella tends to do her own thing, but she does love on him here and there. 

Parenting: I'm not going to lie -- parenting 3 kids under the age of 5 is some serious business. There's a lot of juggling and a lot of deep breathing involved. :) I'm constantly reminding myself that Gavin and Arabella are still children and even though they're much older than the baby, they deserve just as much grace as he gets. While it has been an adjustment, I adore my family and am so thankful to be able to stay home with my children while working part-time with my videography business. 

Other Information: At his first check-up the week after birth, his umbilical cord came off on my shirt and his belly button had been bleeding a little since that appointment. At the appointment on 12/1, his doc used a silver nitrate stick to stop the bleeding, and it worked! :)

11 Months and 2 Years 4 Months

It's been quite a while since I've written one of these updates, but it's never to late to jump back on the blog to document my sweet babies' lives.

Arabella Therese 

Sleeping and Eating: In the beginning, it appeared that A was going to be just as easy as Gavin was. Well, I was wrong. She will be one year old on the 28th, and she is still waking up a few times a night. (Translation: Momma hasn't had a consistent night of sleep in a long time.) Keith and I are co-sleepers, and we've loved every minute of it. However, because I'm still nursing, I think Arabella wakes up a lot due to habit. She goes to sleep every night around 8:30pm and typically wakes up at 7:00am. She also takes a morning nap around 10:00am, and sometimes takes an afternoon nap. She's a light sleeper. 

As I said, Bella is still nursing. There were a few times early on where I wanted to quit, but it just became easier to nurse, and I'm proud that we've made it this long. :) She eats on demand, but can typically go 3 hours in between feedings. My girl has been timid when it comes to eating food, and still doesn't really care for it. Around 6 months she tried baby food, and I was constantly having to force feed her. I think it was a texture issue, as she does much better with table food. She likes bananas, apples, cucumbers, mac and cheese, and strawberries. I'd say her favorite is mac and cheese. She's never taken a bottle well, so we'll be going from breast to sippy cup. Even though she's not eating a lot of food, she's a healthy 20 lbs. and is definitely getting enough calories from my breast milk. :)

Likes and Dislikes: My sweet Belle Belle is the silliest, smiliest, happiest little girl. She is very affectionate and loves to interact with people. She has been crawling since 8 months and currently loves climbing up the stairs at our house, walking with her orange Vtech walker, and spinning in circles. She loves to play outside and go on wagon rides with Gavin. She also loves the water, and likes taking baths and going in the baby pool in our backyard. We are planning a beach trip next week, and I'm sure she is going to love it. :) She doesn't have a favorite song yet, but she loves Mickey Mouse and Sofia the First. Her favorite toys are her banana toothbrush teether, the Mickey Mouse Toy Laptop, playing cars with Gavin, the activity table, and the jumperoo. As for dislikes, she hates to have her diaper changed and hates it when I change her clothes. It's the craziest thing. I mostly have to pin her down and quickly change her. She is getting better on road trips, but still doesn't like to be in her car seat for long periods of time. She's a pretty easygoing, social gal, and I'm able to run errands for hours without much difficulty. 

Milestones: 

October 27, 2013 -- First move, Charleston, SC to Mooresville, NC 

November 25, 2013 -- First time trying food (Mangoes) 

January 28, 2014 -- First snow day 

February 27, 2014 -- First time crawling

March 4, 2014 -- First vacation, Orlando, FL and First time at Disney World 

March 7, 2014 -- First baseball game, New York Yankees vs. Detroit Tigers, Tampa, FL

Gavin Josiah

Sleeping and Eating: My handsome, crazy toddler has decided to take naps here and there. On those glorious nap days, he sleeps for about two hours in the afternoon. He typically goes to sleep around 9:00pm and sleeps until 7:00am. Although, some days he likes to stay awake until 10pm...11pm...12am!!!!! 

Gav finally kicked that darn bottle once he turned two, and started drinking whole milk a month later. For whatever reason, he never liked it. He has a healthy appetite, but his favorite foods are strawberries, tomatoes, cheese, cucumbers, cheese pizza, ice pops, and greek yogurt. He's still not a fan of meat, but he sometimes eats chicken nuggets and ham sandwiches. 

Likes and Dislikes: Gavin LOVES music. This little kid has a playlist on my phone and the iPad and he jams to songs from movies like Turbo, Frozen, Rio, Hotel Transylvania, and also music from MacKenzie Bourg. It's pretty funny, because his favorite song is called "Let the Bass Go" from the movie Turbo...and it's sung by Snoop Dog. That's right, my two year old Snoop D-o-g. Gav also has an obsession with car and trucks. Every morning, he wakes up and his first word is "race car". He has even gone as far and watched old NASCAR races on Youtube. I should be worried (because what mom wants her son driving that fast), but I think it's precious. His favorite TV shows are Sofia the First, Bubble Guppies, and Little Einstein. He is such an affectionate boy, and loves to hold hands and sit with his parents for snuggles. 

As for his speech, once he turned two, it was like the flood gate opened! He speaks very well, and is quite a character. He calls Arabella by name, and calls my sister Lauren, Arden. A few months ago he was walking around saying "Are you kidding me?" and lately when I start singing he says "Shhh. No...quiet mommy." Lol he is a little clown, and loves to sing also. I'd have to say that the best part of him talking has been when he says "Mommy, I wuv you." <3 nbsp="" p="">

Milestones: 

January 28, 2014 -- First snow day 

March 4, 2014 -- First vacation, Orlando, FL and First time at Disney World 

March 7, 2014 -- First baseball game, New York Yankees vs. Detroit Tigers, Tampa, FL

Two Under Two: 4 Months and 20 Months

It's been far too long since I've written a monthly update from my kiddos, so I figured I would do that today! In fact I don't think I've ever written one for Arabella. :( I'll start with her first:

Arabella Therese

Sleeping and eating: From day one Arabella has been quite an easy baby. When it comes to sleeping, she is now sleeps through the night. There are still those nights that she'll wake up once for a feeding, but at this point she sleeps great. In the beginning she was waking up two or three times a night, but during her first week she slept through the night as well! So I don't know! 

My sweet babies always sleep alike!

She is four-months-old now and goes to sleep for the night between 7:30PM and 9PM. Her naps vary throughout the day but she typically takes a good two hour nap with her brother (Thank you God for this!). 

As for eating, she's exclusively breastfed. Around month two I was getting ready to give up on breastfeeding, and she did have a few bottles of formula at that time. It was to the point where she was puking 4 to 5 times per day, and it was extremely frustrating. However, once I figured out that it was the cheese I was eating that was hurting her tummy, things got easier. Also, it was pretty difficult to get a good burp out of her. But that got easier as well. Now that she's four-months-old, I can pretty much eat whatever I want without her tummy getting upset. It's amazing to me that the milk my body produces feeds my daughter. She was 7 lbs. 4 oz. when she was born and now she's almost 14 pounds! 

Likes and dislikes: Arabella is such a smiley baby. She loves to interact with people, and likes to laugh and talk all of the time (I think she gets that from her Daddy ;). Her favorite things are swinging in the baby swing, sitting in her bouncy chair and kicking her feet, and talking to her daddy. She loves to be held, and seems to really like when Gavin talks to her. She also likes when we eat her toes, tickle her belly with our noses, and lay our heads on her belly. Unlike her brother, Arabella does not travel too well. Unless she is sleeping, she does not like to be awake in her car seat. But she does love the Ergo carrier and we've been using that a lot lately. She also just started sitting in the Jumperoo, but I think she's just a tad too small. No teeth yet, but baby girl loves to chew on fingers. :)

Milestones: 

October 5, 2013 -- Rolled over! And I missed it! I'm with her 24/7 and of course the first time she rolls over I was in the shower. But Keith got to see it and I'm so happy that he did. He didn't take a picture after, but I took one of them during a nap that same day. 

September 4, 2013 -- First time sick. My poor poor girl was sick only two months in. Gavin picked up a nasty viral infection and ended up giving it to Bella. I'm just so thankful that I was able to breastfeed her because she wasn't sick for long.

October 2, 2013 -- First official laugh. My girl has the best laugh!

Gavin Josiah 

Sleeping and eating: Our big boy is now twenty-months-old, and is a bit of a crazy toddler. When it comes to sleeping, Gavin takes a two hour nap in the middle of the day, usually between 12 PM and 3 PM. To go to sleep for the night he is usually in bed no later than 8:30PM. Although, we do have crazy days where he is up way past his bedtime and tries to skip his nap altogether.

He is eating mostly everything, and his favorite foods are strawberries, grapes, cheese, almonds, and potatoes. He's not a big meat eater, but he does like a good ham sandwich. Some of his other favorites include Greek yogurt, raisins, popcorn, hummus, fruit snacks, and cucumbers. He is able to eat with a spoon and fork and I am so proud of him. He also drinks lots of water and a little juice each day. Gavin dislikes whole milk (cold, warm, or mixed with formula, with chocolate syrup...he just doesn't like it!), and has been drinking formula to get nutrients. At this point I'm not sure what to do.

Likes and dislikes: Gav is quite the handful! (Hello, toddler life!) He loves to dance, watch Sophia the First, play with chase our cats (Torre and Abigail), and "read" his books. More than anything, he loves vacuum cleaners, brooms, pots and pans, and utensils. He will seriously choose the vacuum cleaner over any other toy to play with. Gav also loves to play outside, and since moving to North Carolina he loves to play on the balcony at our apartment. Music is also something that he enjoys, and some of his favorite songs are "Thrift Shop" by Macklemore, "Blue Ribbon Bunny" from Sofia, anything by Justin Timberlake, and Choo Choo Soul. Being the mischievous boy that he is, he is constantly getting into things and testing his limits and my patience. ;) He is a great big brother and so far, has been super sweet to Arabella, or "bay" as he likes to call her. He also likes to play with my hair, and usually falls asleep doing so. :)

Overall, life is more chaotic than I could have ever imagined, but also way sweeter than I could have ever dreamed. And I am just really thankful for these two. :)

Eight Months Old

**Thanks so much for all of the love on baby #2! I appreciate you guys so much!**

Well, I've been a bad momma in documenting Gav's monthly updates. The last one I wrote was at five months! I'll do my best to remember everything my sweet man has done over the past few months. 

Sleeping and eating: Gav typically goes to sleep between 8pm and 10pm and will sleep until 6am to 9am. He also takes two naps during the day (morning and afternoon) although sometimes he skips them altogether. On those days he gets a bit fussy, but don't they all? As for eating, he's been enjoying baby food since around six months, and his favorites are pears, sweet potatoes, white beans, and apples and blueberries. He strongly dislikes peas, green beans, and carrots. I've been buying organic food, but plan to start making his food to save some money and to also give him more of a variety. Gav really likes organic carrots and cheddar munchies and sweet potato puffs. He's still drinking 4-5 bottles a day at 5-6oz each, with around 4oz of baby food twice a day.

Likes and dislikes: A lot has happened since G's last update. He is a little crawling machine! He still likes Sophie, but not the Jumperoo too much. He now loves his little kid remote control and destroying our house. ;) He likes knocking all of the DVDs off of the DVD shelf, climbing the TV stand and turning the cable box off, chewing on the house telephone, and putting anything and everything in his mouth. He has been doing really well interacting with our cats, and likes petting them. I will say he also likes pulling their tails, but the second that he starts to go for it, the cats take off running! We no longer use the boppy pillow and he's figured out how to escape from the bumbo seat. 

He is a fantastic traveller and has been liking his car seat. I love going shopping with him because he is so easy. He's not crazy about the song You Are My Sunshine anymore but really likes Skinna Ma Rinky Dinky Dinky (?), Hush Little Baby, I've Got The Joy, Joy, Joy, and anything by Taylor Swift. No kidding. I listen to her a lot and I think she relaxes little man. Lately I've been letting him watch Disney Junior in the morning, and the only show that he really pays attention to is Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Whenever Gav hears the opening song he gets SO excited. It's adorable. :) One of his favorite things to do is take a bath. This kid LOVES playing in the water. He also likes sitting in the grass in our backyard. He is definitely a momma's boy, and loves to be super silly with me. 

Milestones: 

September 19 -- Crawled for the first time!

Has a total of 4 teeth now!

And last but not least, we found out he's a big brother on October 23rd! 

Gavin is such a blessing and brings an indescribable amount of joy to our lives. Everyday is a new adventure and I am so thankful to be this little dude's mom. :D

 

Five Months Old

Sleeping and Eating: Gavin has been so much fun this month! He still sleeps whenever he wants to, and his schedule hasn't changed much. A morning, midday, and evening nap and then asleep for the night by 9pm or 10pm. He typically sleeps through the night, but does occasionally wake up between 4am-6am for a nightly feeding. He is eating a consistent 5oz per feeding and once or twice a day I add rice cereal to his bottle. This month, we tried rice cereal, pears, and sweet potatoes, but I think it's a little early for him to be eating baby food. He made a mess with the pears but did much better with the sweet potatoes. We're going to try bananas this week...so we'll so how that goes! :)

Likes and Dislikes: Gavin loves Sophie the Giraffe and his Jumperoo! These two items keep him entertained all day. He jumps for a good hour and then eventually passes out in the Jumperoo...only to wake up and start jumping again. Lol I love watching him do this. He's also been arching back in the Boppy pillow to the point that he is upside down. He likes to sit in his Bumbo seat and watch me cook in the kitchen. He especially likes when I sing and dance while cooking and often laughs hysterically. :D He's recently found his toes and likes to eat them, while also taking off his socks and eating them, too.

Lately, he dislikes his car seat and whines a bit when he has to buckle in, but as soon as he has a few toys he calms down. He still loves You Are My Sunshine and I sing it to him a few times a day. He has noticed our cats (Torre and Abigail) and I think he likes them. He's always trying to "pet" them and they've done really well adjusting to him. He has been much more talkative this month and has been saying "oooooooo" tons. He still loves bath time and I think he's going to be quite the little fish.

Milestones: He is a little roly poly! He rolls all over the place! He is reaching for things easily now and likes to pull on my hair (OUCH!). He's also still doing his little Army crawl and I don't doubt that he will be crawling very soon.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gavin,

You are the sweetest, most loving child and I am so proud to be your Mommy. You make me laugh and smile so much and I love that you are my little buddy! Daddy and I love you very much and are very happy that God gave us you. :)

Love, Mommy

Happy boy in the tub!

Silly baby

First time tasting pears 

Arching back...

Passed out

Little daredevil 

Loves. To. Jump

Four Months Old

Sleeping and Eating: Gavin is still on his own set schedule and sleeps pretty well during the night. Typically he wakes up between 3am-5am for his nightly feeding, and is up for the day between 6:30am and 8:30am. He's taking less naps during the day that are a bit longer, and overall I feel like he's doing well in this area. Our little munchkin eats 5-6 ounces per feeding and eats every few hours. As of this month, he started refusing to breastfeed. :( I feel a bit rejected because I'm still producing milk, but my supply has decreased. My guess is that he's just not getting enough when he's nursing, so he doesn't want me. :( Makes me sad, but not much I can do. A few days after he turned 4 months old we tried rice cereal, but I'm saving those updates for next month. :)

Likes and Dislikes: As I mentioned, he no longer likes to breastfeed. :( He does like to cuddle with me though and that makes me happy. He loves to play on his activity mat and also likes swinging in his swing. His favorite toy right now is a musical Baby Einstein turtle. He likes to blow bubbles with his spit and make "k" sounds. He loves when you say "green" and thinks it's hilarious. Lol. Singing "You Are My Sunshine" always calms him down, and lately I've been singing Christmas songs to him (very fitting, no?). This month we went to one of Keith's softball games and Gav enjoyed watching daddy. :) Overall, he is such a happy kid and a huge blessing to us. His 5th month update might be a tad different since he is sort of being a wild child...I'll explain later! :)

I'd also like to mention that Gavin is teething pretty badly now and it makes him very fussy. :( I hate that he has to go through this, but it's pretty much a necessity for him to have teeth. *sigh* Any advice ladies??

Milestones: 

   June 22nd - Rolled over for the first time! 

   June 28th - Found his voice and started his little yelling sprees. :)